On 14th March (local time), Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem confirmed that an Indian national, Ranjani Srinivasan, who had participated in pro-Hamas protests at a university in the United States, had self-deported to Canada. Reportedly, Srinivasan’s visa was cancelled due to security concerns raised by her participation in the protests on the university campus.
It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live & study in the United States of America.
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) March 14, 2025
When you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked and you should not be in this country.
I’m glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers… pic.twitter.com/jR2uVVKGCM
She used the CBP Home App for her departure from the US. The app was launched during the Biden administration. It is used by illegal immigrants living in the US to voluntarily inform the US government about their intent to leave the country.
In a post on X, Noem said, “It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America. When you advocate for violence and terrorism, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country. I am glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers use the CBP Home App to self-deport.”
A video was attached to the post where Srinivasan was seen walking with her bags at an airport. The Washington Times cited the Department of Homeland Security stating that she left the country on 11th March.
Who is Ranjani Srinivasan?
Ranjani Srinivasan was an Indian student pursuing a doctoral degree in Urban Planning at Columbia University. She was in the US on an F-1 student visa, which was revoked after she got involved in activities that were deemed pro-Hamas. The Department of Homeland Security has officially designated Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
Before joining the PhD course, she did her MPhil in Urban Planning at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP). She also holds a Master’s in Design from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Design (BDes) from CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India.
According to her bio on NYU Wagner, her research focused on the evolving nature of land-labour relations in peri-urban statutory towns in India. The aim of her project was to “examine shifts in the political economy of labour that have now culminated in the current crisis of jobless growth.” Columbia University bio stated that her “current research focuses on the transformations of gold mining frontiers in the Central Schist Belt of Karnataka, India, from 1880 to the present in relation to labour movements, state-formation, colonial rule, and global capitalist restructuring.”
Her primary areas of interest included the political economy of development, the spatial politics of land, and the sociology of labour.
Crackdown on anti-Israel protests
The Trump administration has been strict against pro-Palestine or pro-Hamas protests on university campuses. Reportedly, Immigration and Customs Enforcement also arrested one such protester on 13th March who had participated in the Columbia demonstrations. The protester had allegedly overstayed her expired F-1 student visa.
The US Justice Department is reportedly investigating whether Columbia University is housing illegal immigrants on its campus. The administration has intensified its campaign to deport foreigners who participated in such protests on campuses in 2024.
Reportedly, President Trump’s office has also cancelled federal grants and contracts worth $400 million to Columbia University. This is being seen as a punishment for allowing students and faculty to criticise Israel’s military action in Gaza during protests in the spring of last year.
In April 2024, OpIndia reported how Indian-origin woke students were actively partaking in anti-Israel protests. A protest video had surfaced at that time where a woman protestor was raising slogans of “free Palestine” and “Azadi” in Hindi.
The "welcoming educational environment" at @Columbia and @BarnardCollege. pic.twitter.com/cbli9PhKq6
— Documenting Jew Hatred on Campus at Columbia U (@CampusJewHate) April 20, 2024
The presence of Indian-origin students in pro-Hamas protests warrants recalling the case of Riddhi Patel, an anti-Hindu, Hamas supporter who was arrested early April 2024 for threatening city council members including Republic Mayor Karen Goh in Bakersfield in California. Later, the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment (CRPE) fired anti-Hindu ‘activist’ Riddhi Patel from her job.
